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World Vegan Day Draws Attention to Saving the Earth

November 01, 2007 - World Vegan Day is November 1, 2007. In fact, World Vegan Day has been celebrated on November 1 since 1994.

Started by the World Vegan Society, which was formed over 63 years ago, World Vegan Day coincides on the birthday of the Vegan Society, and is themed on a particular aspect of what it means to be a Vegan. For instance, in 2005, the theme was about the diversity of vegans so as to educate people about the misunderstood notion that all vegans look and act the same.

This year's theme is about saving the planet. How does this relate to being a vegan, you ask? Well, there is no question that global warming is a serious issue these days. What many people do not realize is just how much livestock contributes to global warming.

Cows actually contribute more global climate change gas emissions than the entire transport system in the U.S. Expelling large amounts of methane gas (which is 20 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide gas), livestock contributes to 18% of the global warming gases found in the atmosphere, which is over 4% more than transportation gases. And that doesn't even account the trucking and transportation for shipping the meat and dairy products! This might sound unfathomable, but it's true.

Furthermore, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, half of the U.S. water supply, 90% of soy crops, 80% of corn crops and 70% of grain crops go toward feeding all livestock in the U.S. Keep in mind that many pesticides are used to grow these crops. If we continue eating meat at the current rate, it is estimated that by the year 2050 the world's livestock will be consuming as much food as 4 billion people. Can we really afford to keep eating meat? Some people go vegan for animal rights. Some people go vegan to help save the earth. Some people go Vegan for all of the above. Why would you go vegan?

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